Card file tray



R. L. MYERS CARD FILE TRAY Filed Oct. 19, 1956 July 21, 1959 3/ IN V EN TOR.

United I States atent CARD FILE TRAY Raymond L. Myers, Vestal, N .Y., assignor to Ray Myers 3C(orporation, Endicott, N.Y., a corporation of New or Application October '19, 1956, Serial No. 617,174

3. Claims. (Cl. 129-16) This invention relates to a. cabinet file tray of universal applicability.

File cards are commonly used for tabulating information by means of punched holes, and the cards are run through a punched card accounting machine for recording the information thereon. Several machines are often used for tabulating the data found on these cards, and it is required that the trays carrying the cards be so. constructed that the cards may not only be held therein temporarily or for a long time in dead storage, but particularly be readily transported to and from the machines and in positions of accessibility for feeding into a machine. These cards are normally fed into the machine with a long edge forward. However, the indexing data may be on either a long edge or a short edge, but should be at the top in the tray where it may be readily seen by the user. Trays especially suited for accounting machine usage have had a bottom, two parallel sides and only one end wall, which are so arranged that the tray may he stood on the bottom or on the end wall, whereby each card. may be supported either horizontally or vertically relative to its long dimension. Two sizes of that type of tray are required, and each must be so shaped that the cards may be filed therein on one edge only as determined by the tray shape. It is not possible to remove a card from the tray except through the one opening between the side walls and opposite the bottom of the tray.

The primary object of this invention is to overcome the disadvantages inherent in such constructions and to provide a card filing tray which will hold a card on either a vertical or a horizontal edge and yet provide ready access to the printed information on both the long or the short edge.

Another object is to provide a card filing tray of universal applicability which is provided with two long walls, an end and handles at both ends arranged for carrying the tray either end up or horizontally, and whereby the cards may be supported edgewise on either long wall of the tray or with its flat face mounted on an end wall or a compressor in the tray.

A further object is to provide a tray in which the cards are always located within the planes defining the outer structure of the tray and the cards do not project out wardly beyond the tray walls.

A further object is to provide a tray structure which is so constructed that all trays of the same dimensions may be stored in a standard or single size of file cabinet with the cards suitably held for either a vertical or a horizontal edge exposure and wherein the trays may be stored in parallelism in any of several positions.

Another object is to provide a tray in which a compressor may be so mounted on one wail of the tray that it will hold the cards properly positioned, irrespective of whether their long or short edges are to be exposed for reference.

-Inaccordance with-this invention, I have provided a tray which has abottom, only one side, a closed front and an open. end opposed to the front, which are arranged to expose both a long and a short edge of the card and thus makes the card accessible for use and removal from the tray from either of its file positions. The closed end and the opposed open framework are so constructed that the tray may be carried in two hands with the cards mounted on either their long or their short edges, or the tray may be carried with one hand engaging the open framework on either of its exposed handle edges, or whereby a tray having a compressor to hold the cards in place may be suspended from a handle at the closed end, so that the tray may be readily carried in various positions without reference to the positions of the cards therein.

Hence, a further object of the invention is to provide a construction which will satisfy the above purposes and may be economically built, easily handled and compactly stored with the cards in any required position. Other objects will be apparent in the following disclosure.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of this invention:

Fig. l is a perspective View partly broken away to show the constructional details of the tray;

Fig. 2 is a perspective detail of a strengthening structure which forms two handles at the open end of the tray;

Fig. 3 is a perspective detail of the closed end of the tray;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing a card compressor in position; and

Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic sketches of the tray located in the various positions of usage and storage.

This construction comprises a. bottom 10 made preferably of double walled pieces of sheet metal 11 and 12. The tray has a single side wall 14, which is adapted to serve as either a side wall or a bottom. A front wall 15 is suitably secured to both the bottom 10 and the side wall 14 to form a three wall structure capable of supporting the cards on any one of those walls. At the opposite end, is a framework 16 welded or connected to the bottom and side walls 10 and 14 and so shaped that either the short or the long exposed portions of the frame work may serve as a handle.

The side 14 (Fig. 5) is shown as formed of a piece of sheet metal bent over at its upper portion to form a U-shaped flange 17 which provides strength. The side wall has welded thereto a U-shaped and flanged plate 18 which is adapted to provide a runway space between its flanges 19 and the side wall 14 of the tray in which a flange 20 of a compressor may ride. The sheet metal plate forming the wall 14 is bent at right angles to form the outer portion 11 of the tray bottom, and this bottom in turn ends in a U-shaped channel portion 22 at the front bottom edge, as shown in Fig. 5. The inner plate 12 of the tray bottom is made somewhat corrugated, as shown, to form two raised portions separated by a cen tral grooved structure 23. The plate 12 has end flanges aligned with the part 23 and is welded at its under face to the plate 11 and thus provides strength and rigidity.

As shown in Fig. 3, the vertical side wall 14 is bent at to provide a narrow front face portion 24 and thenrearwardly in a direction parallel with the wall 14 to form the wall portion 28 parallel with and spaced from the outer wall 14 and thus forming an internal channel therebetween. This vertical wall portion 28 is further bent inwardly at its end to form the flange 25 lying in a plane spaced rearwardly from the front face 24 which serves as a narrow retaining wall for a. label card inserted at the rear thereof. The bottom 11 of the tray likewise has. its front portion shaped, as shown in Fig. 4;

to form a rearwardly opening horizontal channel portion having the vertical front wall portion 26 extending throughout the width of the tray, as shown in Fig. 3, which lies in the plane of the side wall portion 24. The upper wall 29 of this channel which is parallel with and spaced from the bottom wall 11 is turned upwardly at its inner end to form the inwardly projecting vertical flange 27 which likewise extends substantially throughout the width of the tray, as shown in Fig. 3. This forms another side of the label holder. The structural parts 24, 25 and 28 have the same channel shape as have the parts 26, 27 and 29. That is, a section through the parts 24, 25 and 28 will correspond with the sectional showing at the bottom of Fig. 4 of the parts 26, 27 and 29. A rear sheet steel wall 32 forming the back of the label holder has a lower projecting flange welded to the bottom wall 11, as shown in Fig. 4. The upper part of this wall 32 is bent forward at right angles to form a top wall 30 and then downwardly at 90 to form the depending front wall or flange 33. At the side, this plate is bent at 90 to form the vertical corner wall 31 (Fig. 3) which terminates in the inturned vertical flange 35 lying in the plane of the other front wall parts 24, 26 and 33.

These constitute the front face of the tray. A slot 34 through the vertical side Wall portion 31 is provided for the insertion of a label card. This card lies at the rear of the inturned flanges 25 and 27 and against the rear wall 32. The exposed edges of the inturned walls 33 and 35 may be rounded or curled back as shown to form a smooth edge and hand grip. The parts 33 and 35 are spaced from the back wall 32 by a sufficient distance to permit inserting ones fingers behind them and to form a handle so that the tray may be readily carried thereby with the bottom either horizontal or vertical.

A'plate 36 (Fig. 1) which is shorter and narrower than the front end of the tray and likewise smaller in these two dimensions than the cards to be carried in the tray is suitably mounted on the rear of the wall 32, as by providing it with in-turned flanges 37 and welding the latter to the wall plate 32, as shown particularly in Fig. 4. This plate 36 thus supports the central portion of the adjacent file card but leaves room for inserting ones fingers around either the narrow or the long edge of the card so that a bunch of cards may be readily removed from the tray.

The frame 16, as shown in Fig. 2, is a single metal rod bent to form the handle portions or arms 38 and 39 at right angles which serve for carrying the tray with the cards located on either the tray bottom 12 or the tray wall 14 or the front end wall 36. The handle parts 38 and 39 have two in-turned ends 40 and 41 at right angles thereto. The end 40 (Fig. 1) is inserted into the open end of the U-channel 17 of the end wall 14. Likewise, the in-turned end 41 is inserted into the open end of the U-channel 22 of the bottom wall, and these two ends are suitably Welded in place. To strengthen the adjacent ends of the bottom and side walls, the bottom wall plate 10 is bent up and in-turned to form a strengthening U-channel flange 42, as shown broken away at the left hand side of Fig. l, and the side wall 14 is likewise shaped at 43 to form a similar strengthening U- channel adjacent the open end at the left. At the front end of the tray, two strengthening angle irons 44 and 45 are likewise inserted inside of the flanged portions. That is, the angle iron 44 is inserted inside of the U- channel flange 22 and within the U-shaped flanged portion 31 of the front wall. The flange 22 is formed by bending an edge portion of the bottom into an inwardly-opening U-shaped structure which fits closely around and grips the rectangular rod 44. Likewise, the angle iron 45 is inserted inside of the U-shaped flange 17 at the top of the side wall 14 and within the flanged structure 30 of the front wall, the hollow flanges fitting tightly around three sides of the rod in each case. Thus, these two angle irons tightly grip the adjacent wall parts andfully strengthen the corner sections of the closed front end of the tray, and the handle 16 similarly strengthens the tray at its opposite open ends by having its free ends 40 and 41 tightly gripped by the adjacent tray walls. The strength and rigidity of the angle iron bars 46 and 41 thus aid in holding the side against its being bent by handling. p

A compressor 48 (Fig. 5) of suitable construction may have a slide 49 mounted on the slideway flanges 19. The compressor is preferably of the type described in my copending application (case IV) Serial No. 617,177, filed on even date herewith, and to which reference may be had for a description thereof.

It will now be appreciated that this tray may be carried or supported in any one of the positions of Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive. That is, in Fig. 6, the cards may be supported with their long edges on the bottom 10 and their faces toward the front and held in place by the compressor 48, whose pressure plate faces towards the front wall 15 of the tray. The tray may be carried by means of the long portion 38 of the open handle 16 and the top flanged portion 30 of the closed end 15 of the tray. As shown in Fig. 7, the tray may be carried solely by the long handle portion 38 and thus causing the cards to lie flat and substantially horizontal against the inner supporting plate 36. The off-center position of the handle relative to the center of gravity of the loaded tray causes the tray to deviate from a vertical position and thus urge the cards against the bottom wall 10. The tray may also be inverted so that the tray may depend from the handle 30 or the handle 31 so that the cards lie horizontally against the compressor plate 48 of Fig. 5 and against either the bottom or the side wall. Likewise, the cards may be supported with the tray positioned as in Fig. 8 with the short edges of the cards lying against the side wall 14 which now serves as a bottom. In this arrangement, the short handle portions 31 and 39 are employed for carrying the tray horizontally by means of two hands. Likewise, as shown in Fig. 9, the tray may be supported on the front end 15 with the plate 36 forming a bottom support for the stack of cards. That plate, as indicated, is smaller than the adjacent cards so that the cards may be readily removed. When inverted, the cards lie on the compressor and are held in place by compression against the front plate 36. Thus the same tray will serve for holding cards of the same size in any of the indicated positions, and they may be removed through either of the openings at the side and top. This, in particular, makes it feasible to stack cards in the tray in a given arrangement and then by reversing the tray end over end, the card originally filed first against the end plate 36 and located on the bottom in the arrangement of Fig. 7 may be positioned as the top card for withdrawal first. Various other advantages are inherent in this construction.

The card file tray made according to this invention has three sheet metal walls forming a bottom, a side wall and a front end wall which are arranged at right angles to each other at a corner and thus form a file space for cards which are slidably removable in directions perpendicular to the bottom and the side wall. Each wall has an inner plane face arranged for supporting the cards fully thereon. The side wall and the bottom serve alternatively as bottoms for supporting a stack of cards edgewise thereon. A slideway formed on one of these bottom walls has its inner faces lying in a plane so that the cards will rest adequately thereagainst. The interior of the tray is unobstructed, except for any compressor that may be removably mounted on the slideway, so that a set of cards may be readily slid into position or removed.

The tray is provided with two handles at right angles to each other at its opposite ends, and these handles are arranged in parallel pairs so that the tray may be carried horizontally in a two-handed fashion with the cards resting on either the bottom or the side wall. The tray may be also carried by a single hand graspingany one of the four handles, which results in the tray being suspended in a substantially vertical but tilted position so that the cards will rest either on said end wall or on a framework comprising the handles opposed thereto. The handles at right angles to each other at each end of the tray are remote from the opposed bottom and side walls, so that when the tray is suspended from any one of the four handles, it tilts in a direction that urges the cards toward the opposed wall and thus prevents the cards from sliding outwardly and falling from the tray.

The two handles at the end opposite the front end wall are formed by an open frame of metal rod suitably secured to the bottom and the side wall and arranged to provide a right-angled corner, the inner and outer faces of the frame lying in parallel planes so that cards may be adequately supported against the inner face and the tray may be stood on the outer face of the frame. The frame is shown as a rod bent to form two arms 38 and 39 at right angles which terminate in parallel extensions 40 and 41 which are inserted and secured in channels formed by shaping the outer edge portions of the side wall and bottom. A similar construction comprises angle irons secured in channels in the front end wall and adjacent channels of the bottom and side wall and thus strengthen the front end of the tray.

The front of the tray is preferably recessed and has inwardly extending flanges at right angles to each other which serve as handles, and the outer edge faces of these flanges and associated parts of the front end lie in a plane, so that the tray may be stood on that end in a substantially vertical position or one in which the inclination of the tray relative to a vertical plane is not sufiicient to cause the tray to tip over when loaded. The interior face of the front end wall also forms a plane for supporting cards thereon when the tray is stood on the front end wall. The open frame provides for inserting one's fingers around the same to manipulate the cards or to carry the tray.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims to embody the principles set forth herein, as well as to include constructional features described and claimed in said copending case IV and in my applications for patent, cases 11 and III, Serial Nos. 617,175 and 617,176, filed on even date herewith, which relate to this class of file card tray.

This case is a re-file for my application Serial #504,- 335 filed April 27, 1956.

I claim:

1. A file card tray comprising a receptacle having only three integrally united sheet metal walls forming a bottom, a side and a front end which are arranged substantially at right angles to each other at an inner corner and each has fiat inner faces lying in a plane for supporting a set of cards normally on either the bottom or the side wall, said tray being substantially open opposite to the side wall for an unobstructed positioning and removal of the cards from either supporting wall, a hollow sheet metal structure in front of and projecting forwardly from said front end wall which defines an outwardly opening recess, said structure comprising two walls at right angles to each other having inturned flanges adjacent the top and side of the wall and spaced from the end wall and located respectively remote from and opposite to the bottom and side walls which form vertical and horizontal handles for carrying the tray, and an open frame having arms at right angles secured to the bottom and side walls at the rear end of the tray opposite to said front end wall which provides horizontal and vertical handles respectively remote from and opposite to the bottom and side walls, said four handles being arranged in substantially parallel pairs providing for a two handed carrying of the tray with the cards lying edgewise on either the bottom or the side wall, and each handle being arranged olf center relative to the center of gravity of the tray for suspending the tray therefrom in a tilted position which urges the cards towards the adjacent side wall or bottom, both said frame and said hollow structure having its outermost portions lying in a plane so that each forms an unobstructed base on which the tray may be stood, and the frame and the front end wall forming inner supports lying in planes for cards in the tray.

2. A file card tray according to claim 1 in which the side and bottom walls have channels adjacent said frame, and the arms of the frame have free ends projecting at right angles to the handles and firmly secured within the channels.

3. A file card tray according to claim 1 in which the front end has two channels adjacent the side wall and bottom and the latter have channels substantially communicating with the end wall channels, and comprising angle irons having legs at right angles rigidly secured in the channels of the end wall and the adjacent channels of the side wall and bottom which strengthen the corners of the tray.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 412,625 Jewel Oct. 8, 1889 911,598 Klenk Feb. 9, 1909 1,409,160 Ehler Mar. 14, 1922 1,501,439 Cook July 15, 1924 1,750,866 Skowron Mar. 18, 1930 1,891,522 Bullock Dec. 20, 1932 1,929,095 Hutchings Oct. 3, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,159 Great Britain Aug. 23, 1906 OTHER REFERENCES Wright Catalog, The Wright Line Inc., Worcester, Mass. Catalog No. 19, April 1955, pp. 9 and 12. 

